"Remember that the nation lives in the cottage. But, alas! nobody ever did anything for them. Our modern reformers are very busy about widow remarriage. Of course, I am a sympathiser in every reform, but the fate of a nation does not depend upon the number of husbands their widows get, but upon the condition of the masses. Can you raise them? Can you give them back their lost individuality without making them lose their innate spiritual nature?" - Vivekananda

Chandigarh,
Oct 27 (IANS) As India's Chandrayaan-1 cruises to the moon,
marking the nation's foray into the big league of space missions,
an Indian-born American's company tied up with aircraft manufacturer
Boeing for a role in the US' manned space missions.

New
Delhi-born Chirinjeev Kathuria's is a true story of an Indian
immigrant aiming for the stars.

PlanetSpace, which was already in league with advanced defence
technology systems manufacturer Lockheed Martin and advanced
space systems provider Alliant Techsystems (ATK), has formed
a new consortium with Boeing and aims to compete for a $3
billion commercial re-supply services (CRS) contract to ship
cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) after 2011
as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) proposes
to decommission its current space shuttle programme.

"We
are thrilled to add Boeing to round out our extraordinary
team," Kathuria, 42, chairman of PlanetSpace, told IANS
on telephone from Chicago.

PlanetSpace
is a start-up that is interested in commercial use of space.

The
NASA programme is to sign commercial cargo-delivery contracts
to serve the ISS. It was originally intended to support start-ups
and smaller entrepreneurs.

But
now, Boeing's emergence as one of the teams changes that focus
somewhat. Boeing is currently NASA's prime contractor for
the international space station and is part of a joint venture
with Lockheed that oversees flights of the space shuttle.

"This
CRS contract is an important part of ensuring the long-term
viability and value of the ISS. Boeing is pleased to be a
part of the PlanetSpace CRS team," said Brewster Shaw,
vice president and general manager of Boeing's Space Exploration
division.

"The
Boeing Company, as a partner in the design, development and
integration of the ISS, shares NASA's interest in ensuring
this national resource and world-class laboratory is used
to its full capability and potential," he added.

NASA
next month is slated to pick two winners for commercial cargo-delivery
contracts potentially valued at a total of $3 billion. The
other two teams are headed by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles
and Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Hawthorne, California.

"The
team PlanetSpace has assembled is the only team that can address
NASA's capability based on availability of heritage hardware
and software systems, unprecedented corporate commitment and
the reputations for ultimate mission success. We commend Congress
and NASA on their continued commitment to support and grow
commercial spaceflight supporting our nation's space utilization
needs," said Kathuria.